The present invention has application to a display rack and to a hanger for use therewith, wherein an article is mounted for display on the hanger.
Although the rack for use with the invention as embodied herein has general application for the display of various articles such as clothing, wallpaper, rugs and other articles that can be displayed in a vertical position, the invention has particular application with a garment rack on which hangers are mounted for the display of various articles of clothing, the garment hangers being pivotally mounted on the rack.
In the display of garments such as trousers on a garment hanger as mounted on a display rack, the hanger normally includes a horizontal rod portion over which the trousers are draped for convenient inspection by a customer. In selecting a garment for closer inspection or for removal thereof from the hanger on which it is mounted, it is the usual practice to pivotally move the hangers adjacent to the one on which the selected garment is located so as to isolate the selected garment. Prior to the instant invention, garment hangers as mounted on a support or rack have been freely pivotal primarily along a vertical axis; and in most garment racks of this kind, selected hangers are isolated only after forcing the adjacent hangers away from the selected one and applying sufficient pressure on the adjacent hangers to maintain them in a position that will not interfere with inspection of the selected garment or the removal thereof from its hanger. Maintaining the garments in a compressed condition away from the selected hanger sometimes is inconvenient, and oftentimes the user will have to locate his body against the bank of hangers that have been pivoted away from the selected hanger, so as to free both hands for inspection of the selected garment or the removal thereof from its hanger. Sometimes when a garment rack is fully loaded with garments as mounted on the display hangers of the rack, moving the selected hanger to a convenient location for inspection of the garment thereon is a difficult task and is frustrating to a customer who is desirous of removing the garment from the hanger. Furthermore, replacement of the garment on the hanger is oftentimes difficult to achieve on a fully loaded rack, and quite frequently the garment as replaced on the hanger is not hung properly, which not only results in an unsightly display, but also wrinkles the garment.